History Main / BlindWeaponmaster

* ''Franchise/StarWars: Film/RogueOne'': Former Guardian of the Whills Chirrut Îmwe is blind, but takes down stormtroopers five at a time with his staff. How?

** In another fight he uses an energy bow to shoot a dogfighting TIE Fighter in flight in the exact way to make it crash into an anti-aircraft gun.

* ''VideoGame/Disgaea2'' has Fubuki, Yukimaru's older brother. When the False Zenon attacked Snow Melody 15 years prior to the game's events, the attack struck Fubuki blind, and he presumably gets around this with AuraVision. In battle, he prefers to wield [[AnAxeToGrind an axe]] as his primary weapon, but axes in-game do suffer an accuracy penalty.

They hold their staff (or other WeaponOfChoice) like they know what they're doing, but since they're completely without sight surely they aren't that dangerous, right? Wrong. The Blind Weaponmasters are some of the most deadly adversaries a character can face. In possession of [[DisabilitySuperpower supernatural senses born from blindness]] or just BadassNormal enough to compensate for the weaponmaster's loss with other natural senses, the Blind Weaponmaster will surprise any overconfident character and make heroes push their skill to its limits. A blind weaponmaster may invoke YourEyesCanDeceiveYou by fighting in a visibly challenging location such as fog or total darkness which would even out the drawback or even reverse it on the weaponmaster 's opponent instead. The Blind Weaponmaster's weapon of choice is stereotypically a staff, but other blunt weapons have been used as well. Blades are rare but not unheard of.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' contained three blind, dog-like demons,[[spoiler:or rather men who were possessed by a magic well,]] who were able to use arrows with supernatural accuracy and speed due to their incredible hearing. Jack trains himself to fight blindfolded in order to combat them.

* ''Manga/HellsParadise'' has Shion, who is blind since birth, but is one of the best fighters among the cast due to his ability to perceive "waves" (later defined in-story as "Tao").

* King Snake, in the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' family of comics, was blinded by gunfire at an early age, but became one of the best martial artists in the 'verse in spite of it. He's so good that on one occasion where his sight was restored, it actually threw him off his game enough that Tim Drake's ComicBook/{{Robin|Series}} could hold his own against him.

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[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]

* Being blind himself, Matt Murdock in ''Film/{{Daredevil}}'' uses this trope through out this movie, though he technically cheats by using echolocation to see.

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* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''[='=]s Terezi is very handy with her [[CaneFu cane]]. Though she's not entirely blind (she can see synaesthetically via smell and taste).

* ''WebComic/NoNeedForBushido'' has Ryoku, a blind swordsman, (he's essentially an evil version of Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, if Daredevil was a samurai assassin) and Cho, a blind martial arts master with a preference for using a MartialArtsStaff who claims to be guided by the Tao itself and may be the best fighter in the series despite being not only blind but also a first class CloudCuckoolander. The unlikeliness of there being more than one man like this is parodied at one point, when Ken, one of the main characters, is knocked out, and while he's unconscious Ryoku kidnaps Ina. When he comes to Ken is told that "the blind fighter guy" took Ina, and immediately turns on Cho and demands to know why Cho betrayed them. When told that it wasn't Cho but someone else, Ken is completely dumbfounded at learning that there are (at least) ''two'' such "blind fighter guys" in the country.

* ''WebComic/NoNeedForBushido'' has Ryoku, a blind swordsman, (he's essentially an evil version of Comicbook/{{Daredevil}}, if Daredevil was a samurai assassin) and Cho, a blind martial arts master with a preference for using a SimpleStaff who claims to be guided by the Tao itself and may be the best fighter in the series despite being not only blind but also a first class CloudCuckoolander. The unlikeliness of there being more than one man like this is parodied at one point, when Ken, one of the main characters, is knocked out, and while he's unconscious Ryoku kidnaps Ina. When he comes to Ken is told that "the blind fighter guy" took Ina, and immediately turns on Cho and demands to know why Cho betrayed them. When told that it wasn't Cho but someone else, Ken is completely dumbfounded at learning that there are (at least) ''two'' such "blind fighter guys" in the country.

* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': Usui, a Zatoichi {{Expy}}, literally known as "The Blind Sword".

* When not smilingly speaking wisdom, Master Po from ''Series/KungFu'' swings a pretty mean staff.

* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'': The demigod Malenia is infected with [[TheCorruption Scarlet Rot]] that has been eating at her body since birth, eventually consuming her right arm, both legs, ''and'' both of her eyes. While her brother Miquella was able to replace her limbs with magical prosthetics of unalloyed gold, he could not restore her eyes[[note]]or they have been separated before she had lost them[[/note]]... which did nothing to hinder Malenia from [[MasterSwordsman mastering the sword]], earning the title of the WorldsBestWarrior, defeating her only real challenger, her half-brother Radahn, in the Shattering[[note]]if only by [[BatmanGrabsAGun tapping into the Scarlet Rot]], which also knocked her out for weeks[[/note]], and then becoming one of the toughest {{Superboss}}es in the ''[[SoulsLikeRPG Soulsborne]]'' history.

* [[spoiler:The titular Eli]], from ''Film/TheBookOfEli''.

* Sirhan Dogen from the second VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth game is a blind [[ProfessionalKiller assassin]]. It helps when you've [[RightHandAttackDog trained your seeing-eye dog to kill for you]], but he is also quite deadly with a knife.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'': Around the halfway point of the game, [[spoiler:Ignis]] is permanently blinded. He spends the next few chapters at subpar, though he gets an AttackItsWeakPoint technique and some improved dodgeability at the end of the first dungeon he spends in this state. After the TimeSkip for the endgame, he's back to fighting as well as (if not ''better'' than) he was before.

* According to the lore of the ''VideoGame/IvaliceAlliance'' games, the Bangaa have bad eyesight and some wear blindfolds as a result. One of the Bangaa classes in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has them wearing a blindfold and using cards as projectile weapons and causing a variety of status effects. Their accuracy is just as good as other characters with normal eyesight.

* Xiao Long from ''VideoGame/MaceTheDarkAge''.

* Hangan in ''VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}}''
-->'''Hangan:''' Though my eyes don't reflect, my heart feels.
* Xachariah in ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment''was a former companion of [[PlayerCharacter The Nameless One]] and an expert marksman who could sense things hidden to others, despite being both blind and [[TheAlcoholic perpetually-drunk]].

* Voldo from the ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soul]]'' series is a blind man who wields a pair of katars with great skill. Also, [[FanDisservice he might cause you to go blind yourself just by looking at him]].

** Visas Marr from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''; since the Miraluka are all blind but "see" with the Force, any Miraluka could be this. Also, Kreia has let her eyes "atrophy from disuse", using [[SentientCosmicForce the Force]] to see instead. This does not limit her combat abilities.

** Master Rahm Kota in ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'', once he snaps himself out of his HeroicBSOD enough to rouse himself from his drunken stupor, that is. He shows this more in the sequel.
* Haborym, from ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre''.

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* The Harpists pair in ''Film/KungFuHustle'' are at least one-half blind (the other half is at least legally blind) and definitely a weaponmaster, as they are {{MusicalAssassin|s}} whose guzheng (Chinese harp often used in operas) is their instrument by which they fling RazorWind attacks at their targets.

* The Harpists pair in ''Film/KungFuHustle'' are at least one-half blind (the other half is at least legally blind) and definitely a weaponmaster, as they are [[MusicalAssassin|s]] whose guzheng (Chinese harp often used in operas) is their instrument by which they fling RazorWind attacks at their targets.

* The Harpists pair in ''Film/KungFuHustle'' are at least one-half blind (the other half is at least legally blind) and definitely a weaponmaster, as they are MusicalAssassins whose guzheng (Chinese harp often used in operas) is their instrument by which they fling RazorWind attacks at their targets.

* ''Literature/WarriorCats'': Some of the best warriors in the Clans and beyond have tried sneaking up on Brightheart, and failed. She is blind and deaf on one side, but she's so good at compensating for it that it borders on ObfuscatingDisability.

* Most fantasy or martial arts settings will have some way to build this character type. ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}''

** The Blind-Fight feat chain removes most of the impairments associated with blindness in combat, and the Blinded Blade Style feat chain gives combat-related benefits when blinded. While this only helps in melee combat and offers little benefits against ranged attacks, it's still pretty good to render [[NoEyeInMagic gaze attacks]], concealment and invisibility useless.

* Most fantasy or martial arts settings will have some way to build this character type. ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'' invokes this trope with the Swordmaster's Blindfold, which blinds the wearer to everything beyond weapon's reach, but does nice things for critical hits.
** The Blind-Fight feat chain removes most of the impairments associated with blindness in combat, and the Blinded Blade Style feat ch**ain gives combat-related benefits when blinded. However, this only helps in melee combat and offers little benefits against ranged attacks, but it's still pretty good to render [[NoEyeInMagic gaze attacks]], concealment and invisibility useless.

* According to the lore of the ''VideoGame/IvaliceAlliance'' games, the Bangaa have bad eyesight and some wear blindfolds as a result. One of the Bangaa classes in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has them wearing a blindfold and using cards as projectile weapons and causing a variety of status effects. Their accuracy is just as good as other characters with normal eyesight.
* ''VideoGame/Disgaea2'' has Fubuki, Yukimaru's older brother. When the False Zenon attacked Snow Melody 15 years prior to the game's events, the attack struck Fubuki blind, and he presumably gets around this with AuraVision. In battle, he prefers to wield [[AnAxeToGrind an axe]] as his primary weapon, but axes in-game do suffer an accuracy penalty.

** Koushirou Chikuma falls victim to EyeScream halfway through the series, but learns to use his hearing to compensate. [[spoiler:That lets him defeat and kill the aforementioned Hyouma, a man who can only open his eyes briefly to use his poersd... which ''don't'' work on blind opponents like Koushirou.]]

-->-- '''Huey''' about Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman, ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'', "[[Recap/TheBoondocksS1E4GranddadsFight Granddad's Fight]]"


They hold their staff (or other WeaponOfChoice) like they know what they're doing, but since they're completely without sight surely they aren't that dangerous, right? Wrong. The Blind Weaponmasters are some of the most deadly adversaries a character can face. In possession of [[DisabilitySuperpower supernatural senses born from blindness]] or just BadassNormal enough to compensate for the weaponmaster’s loss with other natural senses, the Blind Weaponmaster will surprise any overconfident character and make heroes push their skill to its limits. A blind weaponmaster may invoke YourEyesCanDeceiveYou by fighting in a visibly challenging location such as fog or total darkness which would even out the drawback or even reverse it on the weaponmaster ‘s opponent instead. The Blind Weaponmaster’s weapon of choice is stereotypically a staff, but other blunt weapons have been used as well. Blades are rare but not unheard of.

* The title character from ‘’Film/{{Blindman}}’’ is basically a SpaghettiWestern version of Zatoichi.

* ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'':
** Gennosuke's uncle and BigBrotherMentor Hyouma Muroga has severe eyesight problems, though the exact source and effects vary per media. In any case, he's still not to be trifled with.
** Koushirou Chikuma falls victim to EyeScream halfway through the series, but learns to use his hearing to compensate. [[spoiler:That lets him defeat and kill the aforementioned Hyouma, a man who can only open his eyes briefly to use his poersd... which ''don't'' work on blind opponents like Koushirou.]]

* In ''Series/{{See}}'', pretty much the whole of humanity has gone blind due to ThePlague. Baba Voss (Creator/JasonMomoa) is easily the most skilled and most fearsome in the setting.